What is E-8 BAH at Eastern Shore in 2026?

$2,166 per month without dependents ($25,992 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,382 per month.

Does BAH count as taxable income?

No. BAH is excluded from federal taxable income, so a given BAH amount is worth more than the same figure in basic pay.

What happens if my BAH rate drops this year?

BAH rate protection holds you at the prior year's amount as long as your duty location, pay grade and dependency status stay the same. The lower rate applies to members arriving on new orders.

E-8 BAH at Eastern Shore 2026 — $2,166/mo without dependents

Basic Allowance for Housing by duty station, pay grade and dependency status. Official DoD rates, no login, no email.

Eastern Shore, MD

E-8 · without dependents

$2,166/ month

$25,992 / year

At E-8, this is #160 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,196 · low Youngstown $1,248

MHA MD432 · ZIPs 21801 21802 21803 21804 21810 21811 +91 more

Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,777 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,382 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Eastern Shore — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,989	$1,602
E-2	$1,989	$1,602
E-3	$1,989	$1,602
E-4	$1,989	$1,602
E-5	$2,121	$1,761
E-6	$2,313	$1,866
E-7	$2,346	$1,992
E-8	$2,382	$2,166
E-9	$2,472	$2,214
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,331	$1,956
W-2	$2,358	$2,163
W-3	$2,409	$2,223
W-4	$2,496	$2,313
W-5	$2,610	$2,352
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,349	$2,118
O-2E	$2,397	$2,202
O-3E	$2,514	$2,304
Officer
O-1	$2,151	$1,854
O-2	$2,310	$2,082
O-3	$2,406	$2,238
O-4	$2,643	$2,337
O-5	$2,820	$2,355
O-6	$2,841	$2,385
O-7	$2,859	$2,424

What this rate means

E-8 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,196 / month

San Francisco$5,196

Fort Worth$2,184

Salt Lake City$2,181

Durham$2,178

Lemoore NAS$2,175

Eastern Shore$2,166

Fairbanks$2,166

Myrtle Beach$2,157

Omaha$2,148

Abilene$2,145

Youngstown$1,248

Eastern Shore is #160 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,948 a month — $47,376 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Eastern Shore0 – $2,424 / month

E-1$1,602

E-2$1,602

E-3$1,602

E-4$1,602

E-5$1,761

E-6$1,866

E-7$1,992

E-8$2,166

E-9$2,214

W-1$1,956

W-2$2,163

W-3$2,223

W-4$2,313

W-5$2,352

O-1E$2,118

O-2E$2,202

O-3E$2,304

O-1$1,854

O-2$2,082

O-3$2,238

O-4$2,337

O-5$2,355

O-6$2,385

O-7$2,424

Promoting to E-9 here adds $48 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from Eastern Shore to San Francisco at E-8 is worth $3,030 a month — about 63 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $48 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 10% here. That is a status your finance office determines, not a box you tick — and it is the single largest lever on this page that is not a change of address.

None of it is taxed. $2,166 a month of BAH takes more than $2,166 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

Things the rate table doesn't tell you

“With dependents” is a dependency status, not a marital status. A single member paying child support can be authorized BAH-Diff; a married dual-military couple with no children is not automatically the with-dependents rate for both. If your situation is unusual, your finance office decides — not this table.

O-8, O-9 and O-10 draw the same BAH as O-7. The table stops there for a reason, not because it is missing rows.

This is CONUS BAH only. Overseas is OHA, which works differently — it reimburses actual rent up to a cap, with separate utility and move-in allowances. Alaska and Hawaii are BAH; Germany, Japan and Korea are OHA.

E-8 without dependents at Eastern Shore draws $2,166 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you